Excellent example, Erik, I wish as a physician I't thought of it. You guys type fast, too. To steal from Erik, Nick, washing ones hands was not built on previous medical practices, it was a radical breaking with previous thought, seen as worthless by those who held to the traditional views of medicine. Much, I imagine, as some of the traditional martial artists viewed the new outside-the-box approach of Aikido. Growth is necessary for life.
Oh, and for what it is worth, we caused MUCH more problems with dirty hands; unwashed hands of physicians made childbirth an extremely risky business.